Chewing gum is currently available to consumers in a variety of different formats. These include stick gum, slab gum, pellet gum, extruded gum, and others. A variety of types of gum packaging also exist, including certain types of packaging used predominantly for one or the other of the gum formats. Slabs of gum have often been sold in foil packages. Originally, these slabs were arranged in a package in a side-to-side manner, perhaps including five to seven slabs per package. More recently, these slabs have been arranged within the foil packages in a face-to-face manner, allowing 15-20 slabs to be contained in a convenient package. Slabs are also offered in packages where the slabs lay side-by-side, and a cover moves between a closed and open position to permit dispensing. Such packaging typically has broad front and back surfaces on which product information can be placed.
Packaging typically includes covers which are moved to an open position to permit access to the product. However, the opening up of the cover exposes all the product pieces. Therefore, the product pieces are susceptible to falling out of the package every time one piece is removed. While this issue had been addressed by adhesively retaining the pieces in the package, the adhesive must be light enough to permit the pieces to be removed and, over time, handling of the package can cause the other pieces to separate.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide packaging for product pieces which permits one piece to be removed while securely retaining the other pieces.